May Fair Hotel has been playing host to the rich and famous uses Daikin Air Conditioning

How often have you woken up after a night in an inner city hotel, with that 'stuffy' feeling that you have had an uncomfortable sleep, deprived of fresh air? It's not always possible or practicable to open windows as traffic and other noises are too intrusive. Hotel air conditioning cannot always solve the problem either - it may be too noisy anyway, but most older hotels did not make suitable provision for fresh air supply to guest rooms and this is where the cause of an uncomfortable night's sleep commonly stems. One prestigious London hotel group turned to Space Airconditioning plc the Daikin Air Conditioning Distributor to address this problem.


Set in exclusive Mayfair in the heart of London, the May Fair Hotel has been playing host to the rich and famous since its historic opening by His Majesty King George V in 1927. Refurbishing and extending the May Fair was technically a highly demanding undertaking, not least for Space Airconditioning plc, the Guildford-based Daikin Distributor who were nominated to supply the new Daikin air conditioning for the entire project.

At the very earliest stages of the design, it was established that there would be full air conditioning - heating, cooling and ventilation to all bedrooms, as well as all occupied staff areas, all affiliated premises including shops, cafes and the adjacent Casino - and to all lavatories.

From the outset, extra low noise levels were considered a priority to ensure the ambiance expected in a 5 star hotel environment. Energy efficiency was also vital, not only from an operational viewpoint but also because electrical power supplies are at a premium in this part of the West End.

Finally the air conditioning installations were required to be fully compliant with current regulation. A ninth floor was added to the front elevation of the hotel to create a penthouse suite - the second largest and one of the most luxurious and expensive in London.

To facilitate the fresh air ventilation requirements Space Air designed bespoke composite air handling units, combining large (FXMQ) Daikin Ducted fan coil units and Daikin's VAM heat recovery ventilation modules.

These roof-mounted, fully weatherproofed units were prefabricated at Space Air's Guildford factory. The units ensured that the mix of fresh air and return air did not exceed 1ºC over set-point and the Daikin I-Manager controls would hold off operation of the VAM section until the room set-point was reached and maintain the 7-8°k room/ambient differential.

The ceiling height in the luxurious penthouse suite was lower than originally designed due to a planning restriction on the overall height of the hotel; this required a more innovative solution. Daikin Chassis type VRV floor mounted fan coil units were concealed in an partition wall, separating the large lounge and dining areas from other facilities and the interior designer selected purpose made linear grilles to create a feature. The fresh air for this area was supplied by 2 roof mounted Daikin VKMG units, again with weatherproofing manufactured and factory fitted by Space Air.

The design concept ensuring optimum environment control including adequate fresh air to the guest rooms has proved to be a great success and the model has now been extended to other hotels within the group.

Daikin Air Conditioning first VRVQ system delivered to the UK was installed in the Guildford offices of Space Airconditioning plc

The very first VRVQ system delivered to the UK was installed in the Guildford offices of SpaceAirconditioning plc, Daikin distributors since 1980.

Daikin's unique VRVQ system has been specifically developed to replace the outdoor and indoor units of similar systems, originally designed to operate with HCFC R22 (or HFC R407C) refrigerant - without the need to replace the interconnecting pipe work!

Traces of old refrigerant and oil mixing with new refrigerants and oils can cause equipment malfunction. Typically, when upgrading to new equipment, it is recommended that all existing interconnecting pipe work be replaced at the same time as the outdoor and indoor units. This can be extremely costly and cause great disruption within the building.

Daikin developed new technology to capture and contain any contamination in the old pipe work, thus enabling new VRV outdoor and indoor units to be connected to existing pipe work, greatly simplifying the installation process.


Space Air ensured that the first VRVQ system available to the UK was earmarked to replace a VRV 'K Series' R407C system. In this example, the existing refrigerant pipe work and ceiling cassette fan coil units were retained. Only the outdoor condensing units and internal branch selector boxes were replaced. Commenting on the installation, Space Air's technical after sales manager, Sibat Butt said. "It is quite usual for new Daikin equipment to be installed in our own premises, but normally it would be destined for our training suite or a showroom. On this occasion, we chose to replace the system serving our main offices as the energy efficiency advantages satisfied one of our planned ISO 14001 objectives." Mr Butt continued. "The project was completed over one weekend and the only impact on the office staff was the temporary imposition of a few ceiling tiles being removed on Friday afternoon. By Monday morning the new VRVQ based system had been fully commissioned and was up and running, many staff being none the wiser that any change had taken place."

Daikin VRVQ affords all the operating and energy efficiency benefits of a completely new installation, at a fraction of the cost. Installation can be phased for added convenience and increased capacity can be achieved where required.

VRVQ is a must to consider if you are planning to upgrade your older VRV/VRF Air Conditioning system.

Daikin Air Conditioning Manufacturer’s Warranty, Validation Conditions

Following on from our previous Snippet (Issue 14), if you are considering making a claim against a warranty, there is a series of conditions that need to be met to ensure that your claim is valid. In some cases, certain claims are not valid and Space Air is here to clarify the issues and explain why.

YOUR EQUIPMENT IN OPERATION...

There are standard criteria that need to be met in order to make a claim against warranty. Of the four principal elements that relate to a manufacturer’s standard warranty, it is important that any equipment you have purchased is operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s and the installer’s instructions before a warranty claim can be validated and processed.

It is also worth noting that a claim will not be approved if any defects in the equipment have been caused by neglect, omission or default by the end user, or a third party. In addition, fair wear and tear is not covered by a standard warranty.
Following on from our previous Snippet (Issue 14), if you are considering making a claim against a warranty, there is a series of conditions that need to be met to ensure that your claim is valid. In some cases, certain claims are not valid and Space Air is here to clarify the issues and explain why.

Manufacturer’s Warranty, Validation Conditions...

STANDARD MANUFACTURER’S WARRANTY CONDITIONS

1.) Installed according to manufacturer’s recommendations
2.) Maintained in accordance to manufacturer’s recommendations
3.) Operated in accordance to manufacturer’s recommendations
4.) All parties involved in the supply chain have been paid in full

REPEATED CLAIMS?

It is important to note that any repeat warranty replacements will be subject to investigation by the manufacturer. The Space Air/Daikin warranty states that the warranty does not apply if… “…the seller’s installation and operation instructions
(if any), and any instructions issued by the manufacturer, are not followed…” The warranty also specifies that… ”… adequate proof that the equipment is defective is required.”

SPACE AIR’S & DAIKIN’S WARRANTY
It is also worth noting that in the UK, a warranty is legally linked to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (subject to conditions).